Financial benefits still motivating UK EV demand

The annual study, supported by operational leasing and fuel management company Arval, showed companies with 1,000 or more employees were most receptive to the idea of electrification, with 31% saying they were interested.

By comparison, only 21% of companies over 100 employees said they would consider it. In both cases, cost saving was identified as the main motivator.

Although it’s an indication of healthy demand, UK companies are still behind the rest of Europe when it comes to adopting electric vehicles. Europe-wide results, covering 15 countries, showed 40% of large companies and 27% of those with 100 or more employees were interested.

Government incentives and usability were ranked the second and third most important, after financial benefits.

Mike Waters, Director of Market Insight at Arval, says: ‘Larger companies are receptive to electric vehicles and they remain keen that Government incentives are in place to support early adoption.

‘Operational convenience and the opportunity to make cost reductions are key motivators behind the adoption of fully electric vehicles over conventional technologies. The wider adoption of fully electric vehicles is expected to gather pace as the EV market evolves.’